CHAPTER 389: CHAPTER 320: DISTORTION IN REALITY_2

Yang Qizhou instinctively began to doubt himself.

There was a problem on the real-world level, and Yang Qizhou momentarily had no mind to focus on the game. First, he used the power of the ’Spiritual Dragon’ to hypnotize Mr. Death’s senses. Then, he summoned ’Big White’ and told him what had happened.

"Daddy, Daddy, this is simple. The problem definitely isn’t with you; otherwise, Mommy’s main account would have already..." Big White, filled with a playful tone, didn’t finish his sentence, only winking with a knowing look.

This little brat.

Yang Qizhou’s forehead veins bulged, and he rudely tossed the guy back where he came from.

After finishing this, Yang Qizhou turned his gaze back to ’Mr. Death,’ still under the hypnosis of the ’Spiritual Dragon’s’ power. There was no doubt about it—his game character was already polluted by the ’Deception Lord’s’ Divine Descent Ceremony. This contamination had crossed the barrier between the game and reality, transmitting itself to the player. The only reason Mr. Death had failed to detect it was because of the power of ’Fraud.’

Dealing with phenomena at the level of the ’Deception Lord,’ Yang Qizhou naturally couldn’t leave such a massive hidden danger unchecked. Regardless of whether it would work or not, he immediately used the powers of the ’Residual Ring of the King of Truth.’

A black ring faintly appeared in the room, as threads of silvery radiance flowed out, attempting to correct the distortion caused by ’Fraud.’

Immediately afterward, Yang Qizhou released the ’Spiritual Dragon’s’ hypnosis.

"Lamp Holder, I never intended to run away..." Mr. Death’s voice unconsciously trembled, afraid this terrifying player was about to kill him outright.

Under normal circumstances, Yang Qizhou would’ve put on an exaggerated villainous smile, summoned the ’Doomsday Apostle’ and ’Doomsday Knight,’ and quipped, "I never need a reason to kill; I kill because I want to." But now, time was of the essence. If even a sliver of the Deception Lord’s will revived through Mr. Death, it would spell a dreadful disaster. Yang Qizhou snapped, "Take a good look at yourself first!"

"I just looked earlier; I didn’t..." Mr. Death spoke while glancing down. His tone still carried a hint of nonchalance, but soon he froze, pupils shrinking, his expression awash with overwhelming terror.

With the ’Residual Ring of the King of Truth’ correcting the effects of Fraud, Mr. Death saw his true form.

"No, no, no! How did I turn into this? No, wait, I remember now... it’s the Deceiving Apostle... But that was a game character. How is it affecting me, a ’player’... From the beginning, I’ve been a part of the Divine Descent vessel, the sacrificial offering confiscated and imprisoned by the ’Deceiving Apostle.’ Fraud altered my memories!"

Overwhelmed by the blow, Mr. Death grew increasingly frantic, his flesh distorting further into hideous mutations.

As it turned out, his game character hadn’t been advancing all the way to ’Asgard’ as he thought but had been plundered by the ’Deceiving Apostle.’ Fraud had rewritten his memories, even influencing him, the player.

Yang Qizhou quickly pieced together the chain of events.

His expression turned solemn as he invoked the ’Spiritual Dragon’s’ power to glimpse into Mr. Death’s Spirit Ocean before him. But the sight that greeted him left Yang Qizhou shaken to his core.

The Spirit Ocean, made of droplet after droplet of water, had already turned a sickly black-yellow hue, emitting a nauseating stench.

Merely one breath was enough for Yang Qizhou to withdraw in disgust, his face grim as he remarked, "It’s not just the flesh. The psyche, the soul, the consciousness, the mind, even sensory perception are all deeply polluted, subjected to horrifying distortions. This erosion hasn’t just begun. It’s been festering for an untold amount of time. He’s already long transformed into a ’monster’ without even realizing it."

The ’Spiritual Dragon,’ after all, carried the pedigree of the Old King. Although still in slumber and not fully under Yang Qizhou’s control at his current level, certain rudimentary authorities could still be tapped into.

Yang Qizhou’s expression darkened as he deliberated whether to kill Mr. Death now to avoid any further dangers.

But he soon let out a heavy sigh and abandoned that thought.

"Mr. Death is currently in the midst of the Divine Descent Ceremony. In a critical moment, he might have an unexpected role to play... If his presence does indeed threaten me, I can always handle it later... Right now, what’s most important is helping Mr. Death regain his willpower."

Time pressing,

Yang Qizhou set aside his reservations, first using the ’Spiritual Dragon’s’ power to cleanse the pollution in Mr. Death’s Spirit Ocean, then activating the ’Residual Ring of the King of Truth’ to correct his deformed flesh.

Yet the results were far from ideal...

The aura of the ’Deception Lord’s’ Divine Descent Ceremony, though faint, was of a level far too advanced, making it exceedingly difficult to purge completely. The best outcome Yang Qizhou could achieve was to arrest the ongoing corruption from worsening further.

Yang Qizhou admonished Mr. Death, "Calm down! If you keep losing it like this, there really will be no saving you."

Thanks to the healing of his Spirit Ocean, Mr. Death miraculously regained his sanity. Yet his face was still contorted with immense fear. "How could this happen? How could the fate of a game character affect the player? Lamp Holder, help me, save me—I don’t want to die. I don’t want to become a monster and then die!"

He still didn’t realize that, in a sense, a game character was an extension of the player themselves...

Yang Qizhou sighed inwardly, already having resolved himself. He said gravely, "The one who ties the bell must untie it. Since your contamination originates from the Deception Lord’s Divine Descent Ceremony, we must completely disrupt the Ceremony and stop the corruption from worsening. Only then, with purification measures, might we save you."

"Disrupt the Deception Lord’s Divine Descent Ceremony? Just us? Is that... is that even possible?" Mr. Death’s voice quivered with doubt. Though he didn’t fully grasp the hierarchy of Divine Positions, he knew the ’Deception Lord’ was an existence at the pinnacle of godhood.

Yang Qizhou nodded. "It’s not impossible, but I’ll need your full cooperation."

Desperate to live and avoid becoming a monster, Mr. Death quickly nodded without hesitation. "I’ll cooperate. Lamp Holder, whatever you need, I’ll do as you say."

Yang Qizhou then brought up the earlier topic: the progress of the Divine Descent Ceremony. He had Mr. Death’s game character write a letter to relay this information to his own game character.

In short order, the series of tasks were completed.

Just as Yang Qizhou was about to refocus on his phone, Mr. Death spoke again, "Lamp Holder, my game character has secretly influenced one-third of the Deceiving Apostle’s believers. This was something I prepared to sabotage the Deception Lord’s apotheosis ritual. If you need that power, you can call upon it anytime."

One-third of their faction—this might indeed be enough to shake the foundations of the Deception Lord’s Divine Descent Ceremony.

"Good. If needed, I’ll have you act accordingly," Yang Qizhou muttered under his breath, sighing silently. ’I hope you won’t end up dying by my hands,’ he thought before turning his attention back to the game.

...

"Having just mitigated the pollution from the ’Deception Lord’s’ Divine Descent Ceremony, you prepare for your next move when a letter arrives from ’False Disguise.’

"It contains progress details about the ’Divine Descent Ceremony.’

"The ceremony is more than halfway complete. The authority of Fraud is now stretching across space and time from the depths of the ’Endless Abyss,’ beginning to reflect upon ’Asgard.’ Within an hour at most, the Deception Lord’s true form will descend across worlds."

"Time is running out."

"You ponder deeply, formulating your plan to return to ’Asgard’ and prevent the Deception Lord’s Divine Descent Ceremony. Your goal is to orchestrate the expected outcome in your favor and in doing so, complete the ’God of Victory’s’ Promotion Ceremony in the real world."

"Without delay, you spring into action."

"The first step,

"is to find the ’Deceiving Apostle’ and put an end to all of this."